


A Bumpy Road

by ImpracticallyPractical



Series: TISWNW [2]
Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Coming Out, F/M, Jack being Jack, Jack gets Outted, Jack is bisexual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 02:00:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20806658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImpracticallyPractical/pseuds/ImpracticallyPractical
Summary: Katherine finds some worrying content on Jacks computer, only being startled because she had been dating the boy for the past six months.





	A Bumpy Road

**Author's Note:**

> So many updates Jesus, dont expect this for long tbh, i usually aint this productive

“Medda I need to talk to you.” Katherine stepped into the empty classroom a few minutes after the 3pm bell sounded through the halls, closing the sound wooden door behind her. She pulled a chair along with her smoothly, placing it half way behind the aforementioned teachers desk.

“About anything specific?” Medda turned to her sons girlfriend of six months, watching curiously as Katherine pulled Jacks laptop from her backpack.

“Listen, you know im not one to pry,” She started, opening the sleek black computer and swiping around determinedly on the sensor pad. “I was looking for some of Jacks missing homework to turn in for him, he insisted he had copies of it all in a file on his desktop but he didn’t have time to look through it all so he asked me if I would,” 

Medda leaned over to look at the screen curiously, glancing at Katherines set expression as she seized her movements when she reached an unopened sub-file, one Katherine clearly knew the contents of, and was also clearly hesitating to show to her boyfriends mom. 

“Katherine, I don't understand. What's the problem?” Medda prodded, growing more concerned by the second.

Without clicking the little blue folder nor turning to face the other woman in the room Katherine blurted out: “Jack is gay.” she paused before turning to face Medda, “Or, well, I think so. He has- pictures. Videos. Saved onto his computer.” She was blushing, either out of shame for herself or for potentially outting her possibly soon-to-be ex. 

“Oh... Wow…” Medda breathed out, leaning back in her chair. “He’s never shown any interest in- in men. Im sure he would have told me if he was? I mean-...”

“But would he? He’s so scared of disappointing you, disappointing his brothers… I doubt he would tell anyone even if he was questioning.” She finally finished, “I just wanted to tell you. I dont know if I should bring it up to him but I don't want to keep stressing over a miscommunication you know? Or keep him stuck in a relationship he isn't interested in…” 

“Of course, I’ll talk to him.”

\---

“Jack honey, can we talk?” Medda called her son over as soon as he walked in the door. The rest of the house was eerily quiet, little to jacks knowledge, Medda had sent the rest of the boys out to the store to be out of the premises if things went bad for whatever reason. 

Shit, here it comes, hes fucked something up finally. Jack swallowed dryly, “Yeah?”

“Katherine came to me with some concerns after school today. She said she found some, well, questionable content in a file on your laptop.” Jack could see the unopened file up on the screen of the computer laid in front of his mom, inconspicuously named “Calculus”. Medda chose her words carefully as not to send him into a panic or, potentially, drive him away.

She watched her sons face visibly pale, she gently gripped his arms to help him sit on the loveseat across from her. “Now, I'm not mad. I'm not disappointed. I'm just… Curious, okay? That’s all.”

All Jack could do was nod dumbly, his breathing shallow but quick, though he was obviously trying to steady himself. Medda took that as a cue to back down for a moment, rubbing her hands gently up and down her son’s arms while he calmed himself.

“It's just a mistake, a misunderstanding, alright?” Jack eventually choked out, “One of the boys must’ve put it on there,” he let out an unintentionally panicked laugh.

“Jack it's okay, it's more than okay, I swear to you-”

“No its not!” Jack ripped himself away from her, “It's not okay! Im not a fa- im not like that.” He urged, “I swear it to you, mom. I like girls. I’ve always liked women, you know that!”

Medda paused, thinking over her next statement carefully. “You like women. Do you possibly like men too?” She gently suggested. 

Jack blushed up to his ears, disappearing down his freckled back, his eyes become glassy. That gave all the answers she possibly needed. “I’m sorry.” He replied simply, his voice trembling with pure unadulterated fear. Fear of disappointing his mom, fear of being disowned, of being kicked out, of being thrust right back into the system away from the family he’d always wanted and finally had.

Medda reached her arms out to him only to be met with Jack violently flinching away. Medda tried to appear unphased at the reaction but she could feel tears pricking at her own eyes. 

“Honey its alright.” She sat back down across from her terrified child. “I just- I need you to know that its okay.” 

Jack spared a glance up at his mother. There was no anger whatsoever. She looked sad, maybe a little frightened. Was that because Jack wouldn't let her touch him?

“Don’t tell the boys, please-they.. They don't need to know.” Jack felt his teeth chattering, coming down rapidly from his adrenaline rush.

“Of course, absolutely. No one has to know that you don't want to,” she promised, holding her hand out for Jack to take, when he did she enveloped it tenderly, protectively. “But you need to talk to Katherine. She thinks you don't love her… You need to explain things and tell her how you feel about her, no matter what that may be.”

Jack nodded, looking up to the ceiling to stave off another sudden rush of emotions. 

The front door slammed open, crutchie smacking the offending child over the back of the head with his free hand. “Race how many times we gotta tell you not to do that! You’se gonna bust a hole in the wall!” Elmer followed the two younger boys in, Finch resting up on his back like a baby monkey, clinging while he slept. Albert was the last one in the door, quickly fumbling with a large Nerf gun box, trying to get his new treasure open. Race, as usual, abided by no social cues when he spoke up:

“Why’s you cryin’ Jack?” the squeaky thirteen year old asked, “That's Alberts thing-”. Race was swiftly quieted when sed-roomate cracked him over the skull with his new Alphahawk. 

“I ain't cryin ya little shit.” Jack scoffed, pulling away from Medda to scoop up the newest addition to their family, stealthily looking over his scalp to make sure the skin wasn't split. Elmer and Crutchie looked at Jack cautiously, Jack waving them off before tossing the wriggling body onto the couch next to Medda, Race giggling and (attempting to) fight back all the while. 

\-- 

Things did smooth out, Jack talked it over with Katherine and eased her concerns. Two months had passed before the next earth shattering revelation shook their little family, one that all members were immediately roped into with one text lighting up Jacks phone at 7:00 PM.

Two oldest boys looked up at Jack with shock simultaneously, Jack stared back for a moment, confused before looking down at his phone and quickly snatching it off of the dinner table into his lap.

“Jack, did that say what I think it said?” The other sixteen year old inquired, Crutchy just staring at the oldest of the three highschoolers with shock. “You got Kath pregnant?”


End file.
